Branford Wins Zone 2 Title, Looking Toward State Tourney

For the fourth consecutive summer, and for the fifth time in nine years, the Branford American Legion senior baseball team won the Zone 2 championship.

"It starts with good players," said Branford coach Rich Balzano. "We have games where we have an eight-run lead in the sixth inning, and we have kids rounding first base, diving head first into second to get a double out of [a single]. And in 90 degree heat, you don't see that all the time."

Center fielder Kyle Hart, in his second year with the team, said that there is a different feel this season.

"Last summer, we played as individuals, but this summer we've been playing much more as a team. We make each other better," Hart said. "One of us goes 0-for-4, we pick that kid up."

Most teams would consider winning their zone a successful season, while winning the state tournament would make it a season to remember. For Branford, it's state title or nothing.

"I make a prediction every year about what our record will be, and I also tell them where the team should land," Balzano said. "I tell them our goal is not to go out and win 30 games; it's to win a state championship. If you don't finish first, you finish last — that's the way we approach things. We try to set the bar where it's supposed to be."

Back in the spring of 2005, Balzano became the coach of a Branford team that had never been to the American Legion World Series, or won a state title. Branford had never even played in the title game.

But in stepped Balzano, who had just come off a state championship with Branford's junior Legion team. Since Balzano took over as coach in 2005, Branford has gone 181-53. Branford has also won state titles in 2005, 2007 and 2010, and went on to compete in the American Legion World Series in each of those years, finishing as high as third in the country in 2005.

Balzano's success in Branford has increased over the past five years, when the team won nearly 86 percent of its games (108-18).

To put that in perspective, if a Major League Baseball team had a winning percentage that high for its 162-game schedule, that team would finish with 139 victories, a mark which would beat the current record for wins by more than 20.

What has helped keep Branford a step ahead of other teams? It might be a rule that a Branford alum and major league player has helped develop.

Mike Olt played for the Branford American Legion teams that won the state title in 2005 and 2007 before playing at UConn and being drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2010. Olt made his major league debut last season for the Rangers and was with Triple A Round Rock before being traded to the Chicago Cubs earlier this week.

During Olt's time at Branford, Balzano came up with a rule.

"We have a no-swearing rule here in Branford," Balzano said. "You're allowed one swear, and if I hear a second swear, you're asked to leave the team.

"Mike … is a player that I talk about all the time. Not because of his enormous talent. I talk about him because of his incredible attitude," Balzano said . "Mike Olt played for me for four seasons — he never swore once."